There’s no denying that we are living in tough economic times, and have been for a while. The delight that the British media seems to take in broadcasting all manner of negativity to crop up in the news does little to ease the burden on English shoulders. The global nature of the recession too paints a bleak forecast all round with minimal positive news hitting the headlines to boost the national mood. An expectation to achieve more in our jobs with less funds and resources causes stress even in the most resilient of individuals. Decreasing these stress levels therefore is important both for a healthy worker and a thriving company.
With the three biggest killers of the modern world being stress related diseases which are only increasing in global incidence, it’s undeniable that stress has taken a firm stronghold over modern disease. As something that puts an extensive financial burden on the health service, friends, families of those suffering with it in addition to companies it is not something that can be easily ignored. Companies with an innovative attitude that take stress seriously are therefore now beginning to establish practices within the workplace designed to reduce stress, recognizing that a non-stressed work force equates to bigger profits and better staff retention.
With regards to work, employee stress undoubtedly has a detrimental effect on a company, both in terms of performance, morale and hitting targets. In tough markets and economic times however, catering for your employee needs and reducing their stress as fully as you’d like is not easy.
Working with the concept of efficiency, improving this from a company perspective is surely a priority in the recession as a resulting boost in profits and confidence is a massive positive for any managing director. When looking into stress and its effects on a working professional at work, it’s easy to see how stress levels become elevated; we spend a considerable time at the place of our employment, it is the main source of our income and it’s easy to buy into office politics. Increasing competition as a result of surplus workers adds to this too. Taking away the money worries and making unrealistic targets realistic through increased company efficiency makes for a healthy workforce and a thriving business.
As a final point it is worth mentioning personal stress which can come from a multitude of sources such as family, friends or relationships. Aiming to reduce all sources of stress to a person is a key way to maintain a good level of mental and physical health in a challenging world.
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